EM Update | Vol. 5, Issue 3 | March 2013

In This Issue:

• Oak Ridge Moves Forward in Mercury Cleanup
• WIPP Safety Is Paramount Top to Bottom, Literally
• Waste Management Magazine Highlights NNSS
• Former Assistant Secretary Looks Back on Legacy
• GAO Report Reflects Success Story for EM Sites
• Idaho Site Obtains Patent for Nuclear Reactor Sodium Cleanup Treatment
• Richland Operations Office Completes Cleanup in Hanford’s 300 Area North Section

Oak Ridge Moves Forward in Mercury Cleanup

 OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Oak Ridge’s EM program is making significant progress to reduce environmental mercury releases from the Y-12 National Security Complex.

   Mercury is one of the greatest environmental concerns facing the Oak Ridge Reservation and its local EM program, and work is underway to safely address it.

   EM recently completed five mercury projects that removed inactive mercury tanks, removed elemental mercury from a storm sewer, eliminated pathways for mercury migration, established the conceptual design for a new mercury treatment facility and evaluated more cost-effective mercury disposition methods.

   B&W, the Y-12 management and operating contractor, and URS | CH2M Oak Ridge, LLC (UCOR), the EM cleanup contractor, completed the work with approximately $30 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

 Workers recently removed five large mercury-contaminated tanks from Y-12.

   A large portion of Y-12 rests on soil and groundwater contaminated with mercury that derived from Cold War operations.

   “Completing these projects is an important step toward confronting Y-12's mercury contamination,” Oak Ridge EM Manager Mark Whitney said. “We are developing a comprehensive strategy, including near-term and long-term actions to address the mercury challenge. Our near-term focus is to develop a water-treatment capability to reduce current mercury discharges and to help control mercury mobilization during future demolition and remediation activities, which are at the core of our long-term plan.”

   Employees completed the conceptual design of a mercury water treatment facility that will treat stormwater effluent from Outfall 200, which is the largest source of mercury to Upper East Fork Poplar Creek. Sampling, characterization and bench-scale water treatability studies were performed to support the design.

Removing these tanks is part of the steps to reduce potential risk from mercury at Y-12.

   Elemental mercury was removed from nine storm sewer manholes by installing engineered traps to facilitate mercury collection before it enters the creek. Employees diverted water from mercury-contaminated areas at two former mercury-use buildings, Alpha 5 and Alpha 4, eliminating secondary pathways for mercury migration to groundwater.

   Five large mercury-contaminated tanks were removed. They posed a human health concern due to mercury vapors from the various tank openings. When the tanks were emptied and inspected, employees discovered approximately 650 pounds of elemental mercury. 

   Methods for treating mercury-contaminated soils were assessed. Soils were excavated from the site and sent to three vendors to study. The goal is to stabilize mercury within the soils so it can meet the waste acceptance criteria for the onsite disposal cell, which significantly reduces cleanup costs. The study provided nine stabilization technologies for potential application to the Y-12 site soils. 

WIPP Safety Is Paramount Top to Bottom, Literally

 CARLSBAD, N.M. – As part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s (WIPP) preventive maintenance program, four of six head ropes that suspend the waste conveyance were safely replaced recently. 

   The 2,150-foot descent to the underground disposal area at WIPP is a smooth, quiet ride. The waste conveyance, which resembles a large cage, can hold up to 75 people, 45 tons of equipment or a payload of transuranic (TRU) waste on its final journey to disposal.

   “The team did a remarkable job,” Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager Joe Franco said. CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National TRU Program. “This impressive achievement was completed safely and ahead of schedule.” 

WIPP surface maintenance employees tail a new steel head rope over the hoist drum. The hoist is used to transport TRU waste 2,150 underground for final disposal.

   The steel head ropes attach to the top of the conveyance, wrap around a 12-foot-diameter hoist drum and connect at the other end to a counterweight, consisting of a steel frame with a cast iron weight stack totaling 102,000 pound. 

   Each head rope is made up of 151 wires that is “a machine in itself,” according to Hoist Engineer Norm Siepel, with Nuclear Waste Partnership, LLC, the WIPP management and operating contractor.  

   Siepel said the coordination to remove and replace the head ropes is nothing short of amazing.

   “We have people working simultaneously on five separate levels from the waste hoist tower on the surface to the waste shaft underground, all communicating by radio,” he said.

The WIPP shaft crew installs rigging onto a new 2,300-foot-long head rope on the first floor.

   It takes three to four days for WIPP crews to replace one head rope. In this instance, crews were able to accomplish the work during WIPP’s planned maintenance evolution while waste disposal activities were temporarily suspended. The maintenance evolution allows for periodic maintenance activities that do not impact the receipt of shipments and disposal activity.

   Three shafts extending to WIPP’s underground area serve as points of egress for people who work in the mine. Each week a shaft crew descends on the conveyance work platform to inspect shaft conditions. The counterweight, the conveyance and head frame undergo monthly inspections.

Waste Management Magazine Highlights Nevada National Security Site

 LAS VEGAS – The Nevada National Security Site’s (NNSS) successful low-level waste disposal program was the subject of a recent spread in RadWaste Solutions magazine.  

   The January-April 2013 edition includes maps, full-color photos and details on the site’s 62-year history. The article features information on the attributes of NNSS low-level and mixed low-level waste disposal facilities, specifically highlighting the role these facilities play in serving the cleanup goals of the complex.  

A worker at NNSS handles large, high-powered batteries called radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs), which are discussed in the recent article on the NNSS in RadWaste Solutions magazine. Like most low-level waste, RTGs disposed of at the NNSS were handled without any special equipment or clothing because of the relatively low dose rate levels.

   Nevada Field Office representatives discuss how strict waste acceptance criteria and disposal protocols are the backbone of the program.   

   Click here to access the entire article. 

Former Assistant Secretary Looks Back on Legacy

Editor’s note: In an occasional EM Update series, we feature interviews with former EM Assistant Secretaries to reflect on their achievements and challenges in the world’s largest nuclear cleanup and to discuss endeavors in life after EM.

   “It’s one of those jobs where you’re running at 100 miles per hour,” said Jessie Roberson, a former EM Assistant Secretary.

   The current Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) vice chairwoman was nominated by former President George W. Bush to lead EM in 2001 and served in that capacity for three years.

   Roberson said the job was challenging but also rewarding.

Former EM Assistant Secretary Jessie Roberson now serves on the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board.

   “The politics do matter,” the nuclear engineer said.

   Social, economic, political and technical considerations must be taken into account when EM is completing its cleanup mission, Roberson said. She stressed the importance of communicating effectively with team members involved in the cleanup.

   Roberson said she was able to work with incredibly bright people, and she learned how important it was to “respect all views.”

   “I have a lot of confidence in the technical folks there,” she said. “I know the capabilities of the people, and when you give them opportunities to shine they demonstrate they know how to reduce liabilities for the government and the public.”

   Overall, the Alabama native views her time at EM positively.

   “I gave my all when I was there,” she said. Roberson focused on setting a path to complete EM’s cleanup mission, and she is proud that course hasn’t faded away.

   Roberson said she benefited from experience gained by working at DOE program offices and field sites. Previously, she worked as Savannah River Site and became the manager of Rocky Flats Field Office in 1996. In 1999, former President Bill Clinton nominated her to the DNFSB. President Barack Obama nominated her to serve in her current capacity as a member of the Board. Roberson has over 30 years of nuclear engineering experience.

   Roberson says she’s healthier now and wiser. She is also proud of her daughter, Jessica, who Roberson says is “a woman of her own.” Jessica Roberson is a Penn State graduate and an economist.

GAO Report Reflects Success Story for EM Sites

   In a report released earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said it recognized progress on EM projects of $750 million or less and was shifting the focus of EM's high-risk designation more to major contracts and projects greater than $750 million. This progress is evident at several EM sites.

   In 2009, workers completed significant infrastructure construction at EM’s Moab site at a cost of about $39.3 million, under the estimated budget of $40.7 million, and within schedule.

   The Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action Project work at the Moab and Crescent Junction sites in Utah prepared handling and removal systems for the tailings and their permanent storage in an engineered disposal cell. Workers installed a 21-mile, 6-inch buried waterline from the Green River to the Crescent Junction site and excavated the first disposal cell phase, encompassing about 45 acres.

Scrapers excavate the Crescent Junction disposal cell 25 feet below ground surface.

   Since fiscal year 2010, Oak Ridge’s EM program has completed 13 capital projects of $750 million or less, one-fourth of the projects completed in the EM complex during that time. The site completed the projects within 10 percent of the approved baseline, with actual costs averaging 18 percent less than the approved baseline.

   "We emphasize continual improvement, both in our stewardship of tax dollars and in our ability to complete cleanup projects on time and on schedule," Oak Ridge EM Manager Mark Whitney said. "During the past several years, we have taken measures to enhance our ability to accomplish that, and I think the results are very telling."

   Oak Ridge reorganized into a project-centric, classic matrix organization aligned with EM’s program mission, which has improved its ability to deliver projects on time and within budget. Oak Ridge’s Integrated Project Teams are actively engaged in the execution of projects and identify and resolve issues such as realized project risks.

   Monthly project reviews are another noteworthy practice because they keep Oak Ridge senior managers apprised of project status. The reviews ensure issues are addressed early to avoid impact to cost and schedule. Oak Ridge also draws on experts outside the program to assist with cost estimating and scheduling to improve upfront planning and baseline development.

   The Idaho site recently completed major capital asset projects on or under budget.

   The Idaho Nuclear Facility Decontamination & Decommissioning Project performed exceptionally over its five-year life. The $796 million project was completed a year ahead of schedule and $440 million under cost. The project team maintained outstanding relationships with stakeholders, allowing the project to pursue risk-informed solutions that reduced technical and project risk, improved safety and ensured regulatory compliance and innovative waste management practices that significantly reduced waste disposal and transportation costs.

   The site’s Soils and Water Remediation Project’s originally cost $741 million. It was completed on schedule at a final cost of $548 million. By implementing a lessons learned approach for each of the six exhumation areas — from design of the retrieval enclosures and drum packaging stations to construction — the project was able to save $193 million.

   The Paducah site recently completed demolition of the C-340 Metals Complex, one of the most contaminated buildings on site. Workers finished the project two months ahead of schedule and under cost.

   “EM’s improved performance and resulting upgrade in GAO assessment was made possible by EM personnel at every level of the program who took steps to ensure the proper implementation of already existing contract and project management guidance and policies,” EM Deputy Assistant Secretary for Acquisition and Project Management Jack Surash said. 

   EM headquarters and site employees issued appropriately constructed contracts for given work scope, offered contractors incentives to out-perform contract provisions, improved the federal technical and oversight workforce and proceeded with construction only after designs were sufficiently mature and technologies effectively understood. 

   EM continues to develop better relationships among headquarters and site management, federal project personnel and contractors to foster an atmosphere of timely and constant communication and attentiveness to address EM’s unique portfolio of projects.

Idaho Site Obtains Patent for Nuclear Reactor Sodium Cleanup Treatment

 IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – An innovative idea for cleaning up sodium in a decommissioned nuclear reactor at EM’s Idaho site grew from a carpool discussion.

   The site shut down the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II), a sodium-cooled reactor, in 1994. Most of the sodium was drained and disposed, but small amounts remained in the reactor vessel and trapped in piping. Workers spread moist carbon dioxide through the system to passivate that residual elemental sodium, creating a powdery crust of sodium bicarbonate.

   The Idaho Cleanup Project (ICP) was tasked with demolishing the reactor, but it first needed to safely dissolve that bicarbonate crust and treat and remove the sodium, a challenge shared by owners of sodium-cooled nuclear reactors around the world.

   A team of engineers from the site’s cleanup contractor, CH2M-WG, Idaho (CWI), was able to develop a treatment. Building on an idea discussed in the carpool, they developed a citric acid solution to break through the bicarbonate layer and react with the elemental sodium beneath it, rendering it harmless. 

CWI engineers Jeff Jones, David Tolman, right, and Kirk Dooley (seated) developed a treatment to safely dissolve a bicarbonate crust and treat and remove the sodium in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-II at the Idaho site.

   The team, which included several subcontractors, designed equipment to move thousands of gallons of the solution through the reactor and monitor progress with remote, high-speed and infrared cameras.

   Their hard work paid off. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office awarded patent 8,263,030, “Controlled In-situ Dissolution of an Alkali Metal.” The treatment method can be used by projects throughout the world challenged by the difficult sodium.

   The team thanked EM’s Office of Deactivation & Decommissioning and Facilities Engineering (D&D/FE) for providing $1.7 million to the project. 

   “The reason we were able to do all the bench testing was because of funding from the Office of Environmental Management,” CWI Engineer Jeff Jones said.

   D&D/FE Director Andrew Szilagyi said innovations developed at the ICP will result in successful cleanup missions around the world.

   “This sodium treatment research and development project contributed to the successful treatment and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act closure of EBR-II,” Szilagyi said. “It also has sparked worldwide interest and attention from people facing similar challenges in other countries such as Great Britain, France and Germany.”

Piping in the east boiler basement of the sodium processing building was color coded for easy identification. Orange indicates sodium and green identifies cooling water.

   CWI Engineer Kirk Dooley agreed.

   “It’s CWI’s support of innovative thinking that allowed our team to take a complex problem and hammer away at it till a simple, elegant solution emerged,” CWI Engineer Kirk Dooley said. “Millions of dollars, permit documentation and time were saved.”

   Szilagyi said the Idaho project’s technologies and lessons learned will be shared at the international conference, Decommissioning Challenges, Industrial Reality and Prospects, in France in April.

Richland Operations Office Completes Cleanup in Hanford’s 300 Area North Section

RICHLAND, Wash. – EM met a Tri-Party Agreement milestone by completing cleanup of the north portion of Hanford’s 300 Area. 

   One mile north of Richland, adjacent to the Columbia River, 300 Area was the center of Hanford’s radiological research, development and fuel fabrication activities for almost 60 years.

An aerial view of Hanford’s 300 Area North Section following completion of cleanup.

   Nearly every step in the plutonium-production process was first tested in 300 Area, resulting in highly contaminated facilities and waste sites. The north portion specialized in fuel fabrication and testing of newly manufactured fuel. It also served as the main warehousing and infrastructure section of 300 Area.

   Cleanup of 300 Area is part of the River Corridor Closure Project, one of the largest environmental cleanup projects in the nation. Washington Closure Hanford manages the project for EM’s Richland Operations Office (RL). 

Workers demolish the 384 Building, known as the Power House and Heating Plant, in the north portion of the 300 Area.

   More than 150 of 171 surplus buildings in 300 Area have been demolished. Challenges remain in the south portion, including removal of a vault that contained high activity waste from DOE Office of Science activities and testing and research reactors.

   To complete remediation of the north portion, workers demolished 60 buildings and cleaned 53 waste sites that contained radioactive and chemical waste. About 950,000 tons of contaminated material was removed, packaged and shipped to Hanford’s Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility for disposal.

More than 8,000 feet of pipe — part of the 300 Area’s process sewer system — was removed from the 300-15 Waste Site in the north section.

   The work also involved demolishing the 305 pile, a historic test reactor. The pile supported Hanford’s B Reactor, the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor that began irradiating fuel in September 1944.

    All surplus facility building demolition in the 300 Area is scheduled for completion by the end of calendar year 2013.

Contributors

Karen Bass, Idaho site

Jim Malmo, Idaho site

Danielle Miller, Idaho site

Rudy Guercia, Hanford site

Mark McKenna, Hanford site

Mékell Mikell, EM headquarters, Washington D.C.

Angela Ramsey, Nevada National Security Site

Wendee Ryan, Moab site

Susan Scott, Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

David Sheeley, EM headquarters, Washington D.C.

Fran Smith, Oak Ridge site

Alan Stokes, Oak Ridge site

Ben Williams, Oak Ridge site

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